Each year, parliament’s committees spend millions of dollars examining the work done by departments and agencies across New Zealand. These investigations often result in public hearings where witnesses are invited to give evidence on the topics the committee has chosen to look into. The date, time and subject of each public hearing is made publicly available on the House Schedules and on this page. Each committee is also responsible for conducting annual reviews of government organisations.
On Tuesday, the House select committee investigating Jan 6’s attack on Capitol Hill held its fourth public hearing. The panel, led by Rep. Adam Schiff, focused on efforts by President Trump and his allies to pressure local and state officials into overturning election results. CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane joins “CBS News Mornings” to preview the hearing.
The panel heard from witnesses, including Fulton County, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who told the committee that despite Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, his office found no evidence of it. The committee also played a call between Trump and Raffensperger after the election in which the secretary of state was asked about the president’s claim that votes were “dropped” late at night, which Raffensperger said likely referred to the uploading of electoral data by counties.
The committee also looked at allegations that Democrat Kathy Watson, the special assistant to the president on elections, was pressuring state election officials and workers in Arizona and Georgia to overturn electoral results. It heard from former Commissioner Couy Griffin, who was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of illegally entering the Capitol grounds, as well as former White House aide Mark Meadows, who was convicted of lying to the FBI and the special counsel Robert Mueller. Both denied they tried to tamper with state elections.
During the hearing, Democrats pressed Republicans on the committee to do more to protect election security, including ensuring that staff at the State Elections Office are adequately trained. They also urged Republicans to support a bill that would create an independent commission to examine security issues in the future.
In a separate development, the committee is expected to vote this week on a bill to amend who can access data on the National Cervical Screening Programme. The bill was brought to the committee by the Labour, Green and Maori parties.
The House Finance and Expenditure Committee is seeking submissions on the current and future nature, impact and risks of cryptocurrencies. The committee will also discuss the Holidays (Parent-Teacher Interview Leave) Amendment Bill, which is intended to allow workers with children to take up to four hours of leave each year to attend parent-teacher interviews. The bill will be debated on Tuesday.